Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Can you really be..."Fast After Fifty?"

One day more than three decades ago, my son Jeff came home
from Rocky Mountain High School to report that his history teacher was planning
to run in the Denver Marathon that spring. So was I. That was when I was first
introduced to Joe Friel.

This week a book arrived in my mailbox. Fast After 50: how to race strong for the rest of your life, is
Friel’s twelfth book about athletic training and it’s a winner. I was touched
by his hand-written words recalling the longevity of our friendship and the
fact that it mattered to him.

What’s a history teacher doing writing nationally acclaimed
books about the art and science of training for sport? Turns out Friel is over-the-top
qualified. He holds a masters degree in exercise science and before he
developed a reputation as an elite triathlon and cycling coach, he owned Foot
of the Rockies running store in Fort Collins. During 30 years of coaching he
trained national and world championship athletes such as Olympian Ryan Bolton,
winner of the 2002 Ironman Triathlon in Lake Placid.

As his expertise grew, Friel began to write about what he’d
learned coaching. His publications include the training bible series for
cyclists and mountain bikers. This guy never stops. During this time he co-founded
Training Peaks.com, a web-based software company and
TrainingBibleCoaching with his son Dirk, a top-level bike racer. These days
Friel travels internationally giving seminars, clinics and offering training
camps. In his own right, he has been a Colorado State Masters Triathlon champion
and a perennial USA Triathlon All-American duathlete.

Friel describes his latest book as a present to himself on
the occasion of his seventieth birthday. “I was afraid of rapidly deceasing
athletic performance,” he admits. “I decided to read all of the research I
could find on aging and endurance.” He began by posting blogs on the subject on
joefrielsblog.com. They were so well received that he knew he had to write a
book about what he was learning.

The result covers myths about aging, how normal aging
differs from athletic aging, how exercise affects us as we age, the roles of
nature and nurture and what we can do to slow or even temporarily reverse
changes that occur. He makes specific and concrete suggestions about training
routines, recovery, sleep, diet and nutrition. All his statements are backed up
by meticulous research.

The best thing about Fast
After Fifty is that it’s fun to read. Friel’s personality comes through on
every page. He’s done his homework. He’s a techie kind of guy who loves delving
into research. He pulls no punches, acknowledging that there are still areas
where the answers are not cut and dried and will differ with the passage of
time as more and more athletes move into older age groups. “Everyone is
different,” he says asserting that the volume and intensity of training regimes
and diet must be tailored to the individual. In this business one size does not
fit all.

You’ll have to read to the end to learn about Friel’s
personal vulnerability and why he’s working harder than ever to take his own
advice these days.

About Me

I'm a writer and small time entrepreneur with a company called "oldBags." I create note cards, book marks and coasters incorporating used tea bags as tiny canvases for my work.
Blogging is an opportunity for me to share my writing and and "teabagging" projects.